Thursday, February 28, 2013

Crusin'!!!

 On Tuesday we took advantage of the fact that it wasn't rainy or windy outside and we went crusin' around!



 Ella and Logan taking the Jeep for a spin!



Ella still doesn't really know how to steer so most of the time she just keeps going in circles or she drives in a straight line until she doesn't want to go anymore and then she gets out of the Jeep and runs back to me. 
 

Logan's turn!!! 
 

Zeke Man got to sit in his little push car....he's trying so hard to get his mittens off! 
 

Goof Ball!!! 
 

Zeke Man and Jack red car racing! 
 

I love his little mischievous grin!!! 

 
Ridin' in style!!! 


Piggybacking with Jack on McQueen! 
 

Owen says, "It's MY turn!" 
 

"Hahahaha"!
 

Time to cross the street and come in!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Disneyland Preparation!

 I don't think I've announced it on the blog yet, but we are taking the kids to Disneyland! I'm so excited!!! It's something that we've been contemplating for a while now. We wanted to take them when Michael was unemployed, but that would have been foolish. So after doing some planning we are ready to take the kids. I know that Zeke is little and he won't remember any of this trip, but I don't want the older kids to miss out...especially when they are still in that mindset of make believe and wonder. 

We are leaving at the end of the September and we have decided to drive. Not only because the thought of flying with 4 kids again gives me heart palpitations, but as the Harley Davidson saying goes...it's the journey not the destination. There are so many wonderful things to be seen on the way to Disneyland. We have plans to go to the Redwoods, the Golden Gate Bridge, drive down the coast of California and then on the way home we are going to visit Mount St Helen's. 

Since we are driving I am doing a ton of research to find on how to make a road trip a happier time with kids. The first suggestion was drug them...hahaha! I doubt we'll go that route, but I have found a ton of great ideas and I'm sure we'll be doing many of them. One being boxes for each of the kids with activities for them and also snack boxes. I'm also going to make a visual for the kids so they can see how far we've traveled and how far we have to go. And the DVD play in our van will be coming in handy. Since I have 7 months until we leave I have plenty of time to get things ready. 

Another thing we are trying to do is not spend a fortune. I know Disney and money go hand in hand right! We are giving each of the kids $50 to spend when we are there. They are going to get to look and find just the right toy that they want and then we will purchase it on the last day on the way out of the park. That's it! My parents are coming with us so that's another story, but we aren't going to spend a fortune on Disney trinkets. That being said I do want our kids to feel like they got the whole Disney experience so that's where my crafty/thrifty ways come in handy.  

My first task was to make Autograph books for the kids... 

 

 I found these nice little notebooks at Target for $1.99 each. I had previously downloaded the WaltGraph font for free so all I needed to do was create a cover used my My Memories Digital Scrapbook program.


 I trimmed the paper out and then used my favorite new craft item...spray adhesive to adhere the paper to the notebooks. 
 


I love how they are personalized! That font is so cool!!! 
 

On the back...a little personal touch! 
 

See how Ella's is Minnie Mouse! So cute!!! 
 

Then for a little added protection I Mod Podged them so they would be waterproof and the paper would have another level of protection from peeling up on the edges. In this picture the Mod Podge isn't dry yet. It does dry clear though. They turned out great!!! 

I also scored some terrific finds at the Dollar Tree! I got Ella some princess bubbles, the boys some Disney drawing kits, and each of the kids some of those compressed washcloths with Disney characters on them and I even found Mickey Pens for them to use with their Autograph books. Like I said I want the kids to have the Disney experience just without spending a fortune. I have a few other craft projects up my sleeve and I'm eager to get started on them! Stay tuned!!!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Pinterest Inspired Baby Gift!

 As Kim was getting closer and closer to her due date I was trying to figure out what to make her that would be special for her baby girl. Thankfully Pinterest came to the rescue! I found this idea and literally just copied it. The whole idea of downloading fonts for free was new to me and now I'm hooked. There are SO many cool fonts out there!!!


The first thing I did was create the document with Caitlynn's stats and then print it out on cardstock. Then Michael cut a chunk of wood we had down to size and I painted it white. Then I Mod Podged the paper to the wood.



I took sandpaper to the edges to expose some of the wood underneath the paint and then Mod Podged the top of the paper.
 

The final touch was some grey ribbon for hanging and it's done! I absolutely LOVE how it turned out...so much so I think I might make them for each of my kids and hang them next to their pictures on the gallery wall.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Great-Great-Great Grandma Laura's Highchair!!!

 I've posted pictures of the kids before sitting in Great-Great-Great Grandma Laura's highchair, but now it was Zeke's turn. It's just crazy to me that this highchair is well over a hundred years old. Amazing! 



Zeke - 9 months old

And for comparison...



 Owen - 9 months old



Jack - 5 months old


Ella - 9 months old

And just because he's so stinkin' cute and HE ABSOLUTELY KNOWS IT!!!!


Oh...melt my heart!!!!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Caitlynn Elizabeth Storer!

 My best friend Kimberlee had her baby girl on Sunday February 10th. Caitlynn Elizabeth came really quickly once they got to the hospital...in fact the midwife only had on one glove when she came out.



We brought dinner over and hung out with the Storer's on Friday night. It was nice to get to hold Caitlynn and visit with Micah and Kim. I had already met Caitlynn at the hospital, but I was too busy checking her out so I forgot to take a picture. 


Kim was already looking so good...tired, but good!!! 
 

The new Storer Family!

We've been friends with Micah and Kim for more than 10 years and Micah was just thinking and said...wouldn't it have been funny if 10 years ago we could have had a glimpse of what our life would be like now. In 10 years so much has changed and now between us and them we have 7 kids! God is so good!!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Ella's 3rd Birthday Party!

 For Ella's 3rd Birthday she asked for a pink butterfly party. I got to use my new pennant die for my Big Shot and make her a birthday banner.
 
 
The food was sandwiches, apples, carrots, cheese and crackers, pub mix and strawberries.
 
 
 
The adults got to enjoy meat sandwiches, but the kids had a choice of peanut butter and jelly or peanut butter and Nutella. I bought a butterfly cookie cutter at Joann's to make some of them special.
 
 
Thanks to Pinterest and all it's wonders I saw this recipe for cheesecake stuffed strawberries...Divine!!!
 
 
What's a pink butterfly party without pink party punch. Uncle Ry didn't see this one coming! The punch was pink lemonade, 7-Up, raspberry sherbet and sliced lemons. It was yummy!
 
 
The one and only game we played was Elefun...Logan got this for Ella for her birthday the day before her party. Logan wasn't able to come to the party since they had to unexpectedly head out of town. The kids had fun trying to catch the butterflies with their nets. After each round we would see who had the most butterflies and that person would get to pick a prize from the prize bag.
 
 
The morning of Ella's party Zeke woke up with a cold. Poor little guy was still such a happy baby though!
 
 
My friend Christina and her husband Bill were able to come with their three kids Caleb and twin girls Addison (in her lap) and Anna (not pictured). Kendra and all the other kids had fun playing with the balloons I got.  
 
 
Ella cheesing with her you guessed it...butterfly cake!
 
 
After the fiasco with Owen's treasure chest cake last month I was seriously having my doubts with my baking skills. After I finished this cake I actually told Michael I felt redeemed!
 
 
After singing to Ella we asked her to blow out her candles and she didn't want anything to do with it. Jack decided to help her, but he blows up more than out so Daddy had to step in and extinguish the flames!
 
 
Beautiful Birthday Girl!!!
 
 
Minnie Mouse from Gracie!
 
 
When Aunt Stephie asked me what Ella wanted for her birthday I asked Ella and she said, "Tinkerbell Toy"! Well Aunt Stephie, Uncle Ry and Victoria went all out and got Ella a Tinkerbell doll, coloring book, nightlight, nightgown and sheets!!!
 
 
Modeling her tinkerbell nightgown!
 
 
She also got some Hello Kitty jammies from Kendra and Lilyann, but the part of the present Kendra was SO looking forward to seeing Ella open was her Dora paint book. Literally Kendra squealed when Ella opened it! It was hilarious!
 
 
Christina and Bill got Ella this handmade (there friend makes them) art easel. It's so wonderful!! Jack and Ella will just stand there and paint or draw for the longest time. They've even thrown sheets over it and turned it into a fort.
 
 
Then the final gift from Ga-Ga & Pa. I didn't even know what it was! Of course per past BIG gifts to the kids it came in the house covered in new sheets. In this case they were....butterfly sheets!!
 
 
The unveiling....I absolutely LOVE the looks on Ella and Owen's face. Priceless!!!
 
 
While Ella was admiring her lovely new toy...
 
 
Anna and Addison just hopped in on the passenger side and made themselves at home. It was so cute and hilarious. Of course I had comfort Ella since she was so confused.
 
 
Pa even special ordered a Washington State licence plate!
 
 
After almost running over people in the house we moved the Jeep outside and everyone got a ride.
 
 
Ella was so happy just sitting pretty in the passenger seat letting her big brother drive her around.
 
 
Uncle Ry had just recently gotten his first new truck so he was standing guard to make sure nobody ran the Jeep into it.
 
 
She really was having the time of her life being driven around.
 
 
Since everyone dispersed while the kids were having fun outside we didn't get a big group shot like we normal do. Me with Lance, Lilyann and Rachael was as close to a group shot as we got!
 
Thank you to everyone for making Ella's 3rd Birthday so fantastic!!!